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| Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program Paddling Checklists
Paddling Safety Equipment
Knife
Useful for cutting entangled ropes, a good paddling knife should be
accessible with one hand, sharp, strong, and rust resistant. Blunt tips
are useful for prying. A serrated blade cuts most materials quicker than
a smooth blade.
Helmet
Essential if you're paddling or landing through surf. Get one made for
boating – bike helmets don't provide the same coverage and they're not
designed for multiple impacts.
Tow Line
A 15 meter buoyant heaving line is mandatory, but won't be a lot of use
away from shore. A longer buoyant combo throwline / towline meets
requirements and is more likely to suit an application such as towing
tired or ill paddlers. A longer line is good for towing in waves and
swells, as the separation between boats minimizes jerking.
Tow lines for touring kayak will either attach to the kayak, or to the
towing paddler's body. Boat-attached systems reduce stress on the
paddler's body. They ride low and are very stable, but also more prone
to getting tangled in a rudder. A line attached around the body or
attached to a quick-release belt on a PFD (which must be equipped to
accept it) is fast to deploy and release, and is less likely to get
tangled. Either type of line must be set up so you can release it
quickly in all situations.
First Aid Kit
Should be accessible and protected in a drybag or waterproof box, and
stocked for the group size and length of the trip.
Paddle Float
Touring kayakers use a float to get back into a capsized boat
unassisted. The float slips over the blade, and is held or fastened to
the righted boat to steady it while the paddler gets back in.
Paddle floats are either inflatable or made of closed-cell foam.
Inflatable’s are compact and their large volume when inflated offers
great stability. But, they take time to inflate, and are subject to
puncture, mildew, and delamination. Closed-cell floats are instantly
ready for use and are nearly indestructible. They take up more room on
deck or in the cockpit and their smaller volume does not support the
boat as steadily.
Float Bags
Standard equipment for whitewater kayakers and canoeists. If capsized,
inflatable float bags make it easier to right, reboard, and pump out a
boat, or swim it to shore. If your boat has a single bulkheaded
compartment (typically the stern), adding floatation to the bow prevents
it from assuming an unmanageable nose-down angle if flooded. Be sure the
float bags are held securely in place so they won't pop out under water.
In some cases, cargo in drybags doubles as back-up flotation, but should
also be held securely so the bags don't shift or pop out.
Sea Sock
A waterproof fabric bag used to line kayak cockpits. Its open end
stretches to seal around the cockpit coaming. The paddler sits with
their lower body inside the sock, fastening the sprayskirt over the
coaming. If they have to exit after a capsize, only the sea sock floods,
rather than the entire cockpit, so it's easier to right and faster to
pump out. Significant for boats that are heavily loaded and for double
kayaks with large-volume cockpits.
Canoe Safety Gear
Additional Buoyancy
Canoes usually have enough built-in buoyancy to keep an empty, flooded
boat at the water's surface so it can be retrieved. Supplemental
buoyancy is a good idea, and a necessity for dedicated whitewater
canoes. Before a canoe actually sinks from swamping, it becomes unstable
and can easily capsize. Supplemental flotation reduces the chance of
capsizing, and increases the chance of retrieving the boat intact.
One inexpensive option is truck or tractor inner tubes. But
commercially-made inflatable flotation bags are tailored to fit a
canoe's interior spaces, so they displace more water and provide more
flotation. When it comes to flotation, in whitewater, you can never have
too much: cram in as much as you can, and firmly secure it inside the
boat. You can glue anchor points inside the canoe, and then weave
webbing straps through these anchor points to form a net that holds the
float bags in place.
Spraydeck
When you fill a canoe with cargo for camping, the weight makes the boat
float low in the water and it is more vulnerable to shipping water from
waves. If you're running rivers or crossing potentially choppy lakes,
you can increase the wave-worthiness of your canoe by covering it with a
fabric spraydeck. Spraydecks lace to attached anchor points and have
openings for the paddlers.
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